Freescale MPC8536-ADK PPC Android Develoment Board
  • Jim
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    Jim
    Posts: 4977 from 2009/1/28
    From: Delaware, USA
    Has anyone else checked out this new development board from Freescale? It features the e500 based MPC8536 processor @ 1.25 GHz. It has 3 PCIe-16 expansion slots, 1 PCI expansion slot, 512MB of DDR2 memory, and onboard VGA via an XGI Z9 GPU. All in a MATX form factor. While its designed as a development platform for Android (and comes with a customized version of Linux, Android OS, and e-mail, browser, and media viewing software) the board looks like a nice potential platform for MorphOS or AmigaOS4.x. You can see it at http://www.freescale.com/files/32bit/doc/fact_sheet/MPC8536EADKFS.pdf

    [ Edited by Jim on 2009/10/30 0:21 ]
    "Never attribute to malice what can more readily explained by incompetence"
  • »29.10.09 - 22:18
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    Andreas_Wolf
    Posts: 12058 from 2003/5/22
    From: Germany
    Freescale press release:

    http://media.freescale.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=196520&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1346959

    > It features the e500 based MPC8536 processor [...] the board looks like a nice
    > potential platform for MorphOS or AmigaOS4.x.

    e500v2 core isn't really suitable.

    https://morph.zone/modules/newbb_plus/viewtopic.php?topic_id=6196&forum=11&start=20#62074
    https://morph.zone/modules/newbb_plus/viewtopic.php?topic_id=6313&forum=11#63259
  • »29.10.09 - 22:37
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  • Paladin of the Pegasos
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    jcmarcos
    Posts: 1178 from 2003/3/13
    From: Pinto, Madrid ...
    Yes, the e500 core is not an easy target, even though it's an interesting processor itself.
    What's interesting also is the fact that this board complies with the "COM Express" standard, something I've discovered only recently, and seems to be a good idea, even resembling that "exchangeable CPU" intention of the Pegasos, only more radical.
    So you have one of those nice, so called "SOC" (System On Chip) . They are so cool that, in fact, are complete computers in a single chip (almost). Indeed, the only (almost) thing you miss is some way of adding standard connectors to it, in order to plug keyboard and monitor.
    The COM Express standard(s) consist in a certain way of making CPU cards, with a stardard connection for... you name it: COM Express carrier motherboards. Supposedly, you can make the combination you like most. What ITX, miniITX form factor? No problem. Want Intel, PowerPC, ARM processors? No problem either. Even with the controversial MPC5121e that we thought was only found in the even more controversial LimePC. And I believe I once saw a module with the very clever MPC8610, but I can't find it again now.

    [ Edited by jcmarcos on 2009/10/30 10:33 ]
  • »30.10.09 - 07:32
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    Andreas_Wolf
    Posts: 12058 from 2003/5/22
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    > the e500 core is not an easy target

    That's the e500v2. The e500mc has a compatible FPU implementation so it would be suitable.

    > What ITX, miniITX form factor? No problem.

    That would be *ETX, not *ITX :-)

    > Even with the controversial MPC5121e

    ...or the MPC5125 :-)

    > that we thought was only found in the even more controversial LimePC.

    Huh? Who besides you thought that?
  • »30.10.09 - 11:32
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  • Jim
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    Jim
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    Personally, I'm not sure that the e500 core wouldn't have porting potential. The price would be lower than the 8610 or 8640D and I'm impressed by the number of PCI-E slots on the development board.
    Also, leaving MorphOS out for a moment, the system looks pretty slick as a development system for Android software.
    Finally, to stir things a little more, has anyone else checked out Applied Micro's APM 83290 Soc? Dual Titan cores, low power draw, and support for ddr2 and PCI Express v2.0. They're supposed to be sampling these currently with production in early 2010.
    "Never attribute to malice what can more readily explained by incompetence"
  • »01.11.09 - 00:26
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    Andreas_Wolf
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    > has anyone else checked out Applied Micro's APM 83290 Soc?

    https://morph.zone/modules/newbb_plus/viewtopic.php?topic_id=6268&forum=11&start=60#65841
  • »01.11.09 - 04:04
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  • Jim
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    Jim
    Posts: 4977 from 2009/1/28
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    Thank Andreas, I never would have thought to look at a thread on ARM based notebooks to see that.
    I've already contacted Applied about documentation. Looks promising. Using a 90nm process these shouldn't be very expensive to produce (of course, conversely, the die will be larger and the wafers will yield less processor cores).
    Regardless, its nice to see new 32bit PPC products being introduced.
    "Never attribute to malice what can more readily explained by incompetence"
  • »01.11.09 - 04:49
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    Andreas_Wolf
    Posts: 12058 from 2003/5/22
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    > Has anyone else checked out this new development board from Freescale?
    > [...]
    > http://www.freescale.com/files/32bit/doc/fact_sheet/MPC8536EADKFS.pdf

    Video promotion:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDl4l8Mu6e0
  • »07.11.09 - 09:05
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    Andreas_Wolf
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    > Video promotion:
    > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDl4l8Mu6e0

    New insightful article:

    http://blogs.freescale.com/2010/05/24/android-makes-the-move-to-power-architecture-technology/

    (But embedded video therein is still the one from November.)
  • »03.06.10 - 01:36
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  • MorphOS Developer
    Krashan
    Posts: 1107 from 2003/6/11
    From: Białystok...
    Regardless, its nice to see new 32bit PPC products being introduced.

    Too bad none of them has AltiVec included.
  • »03.06.10 - 07:45
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    Andreas_Wolf
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    > Too bad none of them has AltiVec included.

    ...or even a standard FPR based FPU ;-) (therefore to bring for instance Debian to e500v2 a special effort has been started recently)

    Edit: Ah, I see now that your post was not referring to Freescale's e500v2, but to Applied Micro's Titan, which of course has a standard FPR based FPU. My bad.

    [ Edited by Andreas_Wolf on 2010/6/3 12:05 ]
  • »03.06.10 - 08:50
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    Andreas_Wolf
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    >> Video promotion:
    >> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDl4l8Mu6e0

    > New insightful article:
    > http://blogs.freescale.com/2010/05/24/android-makes-the-move-to-power-architecture-technology/

    FTF presentation:

    http://www.freescale.com/files/ftf_2010/Americas/WBNR_FTF10_NET_F0677.pdf
  • »22.06.10 - 04:40
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    Andreas_Wolf
    Posts: 12058 from 2003/5/22
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    An older presentation (from Embedded Linux Conference Europe, October 2009):

    http://www.embeddedlinuxconference.com/elc_europe09/sessions.html#Wilner
    Slides: http://www.elinux.org/images/0/07/Android_On_Power.pdf
    Video: http://www.free-electrons.com/pub/video/2009/elce/elce2009-wilner-porting-android.ogv
  • »07.07.10 - 19:50
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    Andreas_Wolf
    Posts: 12058 from 2003/5/22
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    Android port for Power Architecture at Google Code:

    http://code.google.com/p/ppcdroid/

    "Mentor Graphics completed the Android OS port for IBM using the IBM 460S core [...]. In addition, the set-up included an AppliedMicro Canyonlands board and a Z11 graphics card from XGI."
    http://www.power.org/news/pr/view?item_key=0e72fc45988df32413b00684f939acd2d062ba5a

    Good article on that:
    http://www.eejournal.com/archives/articles/20110216-android/

    [ Edited by Andreas_Wolf on 2011/2/17 22:59 ]
  • »09.02.11 - 19:34
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    Andreas_Wolf
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    Update:

    > Android port for Power Architecture at Google Code:
    > http://code.google.com/p/ppcdroid/

    Site by THTF/LimePC:

    http://www.androidppc.com
  • »03.08.11 - 11:03
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  • Jim
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    Jim
    Posts: 4977 from 2009/1/28
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    "Due to recent circumstances the PieBox Enterprise Linux service is no longer available. "
    "Never attribute to malice what can more readily explained by incompetence"
  • »13.08.11 - 01:50
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    Andreas_Wolf
    Posts: 12058 from 2003/5/22
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    > "Due to recent circumstances the PieBox Enterprise Linux
    > service is no longer available. "

    You mean there's a connection between LimePC's PPC-based* PieBox UMPC device and some random x86 Linux distribution named "Pie Box" besides the similarity in name?


    *Edit:
    PieBox is being offered based on ARM: http://www.limepc.com/piebox.shtml

    [ Edited by Andreas_Wolf 22.12.2014 - 10:31 ]
  • »13.08.11 - 02:09
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    Andreas_Wolf
    Posts: 12058 from 2003/5/22
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    Update:

    > Android port for Power Architecture at Google Code:
    > http://code.google.com/p/ppcdroid/

    Now also Gingerbread.
  • »30.07.12 - 10:40
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  • Jim
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    Jim
    Posts: 4977 from 2009/1/28
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    Andreas_Wolf,
    Quote:

    Now also Gingerbread.


    Neat stuff.
    Should be useful for Applied Micro based systems.
    "Never attribute to malice what can more readily explained by incompetence"
  • »30.07.12 - 14:12
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